Lecturer celebrates artist residency for innovative sound exhibition

Bob Birch who lectures in Music Production and Music Technology, was selected by a panel out of almost 200 entrants following an open call for submissions for the Space & Place project.  Working with sound, he showcased a series of compositions informed by acoustic information gathered using specialist equipment and software.

Bob and his fellow artists in residence, Michael Bowdidge, Gillian Holding and Rob Harrington – who were selected from 195 submissions by a judging panel - simultaneously used the space to make site specific work in response to Left Bank Leeds and the surrounding area.

Bob commented: “To be a part of this artist in residence exhibition at Left Bank has been an honour and such a brilliant experience. The four of us had never met; we didn’t know each other before this, but have become good friends after spending ten days working together getting ready for the exhibition weekend. All of our work shifted in the run up to the exhibition in response to each other’s projects.”

Speaking about his work, Bob added: “I wanted to make compositions that were created from the sound in the space (at Left Bank Leeds). I did a lot of acoustic testing using equipment from Leeds Beckett and used this to work out specific locations that would provide interesting sounds. I then recorded a diverse range of instruments like African percussion, flute and saxophone as well as electronic instruments – the Hammond organ which is one of my favourite tones, and a modular synthesiser I’ve been building over a few years. I recorded everything using a Soundfield microphone. The microphone has multiple capsules that capture the direct sound beautifully but also the spatial aspects so that you get a sense of the space not just the instrument.

“For one of my pieces I made a montage of sounds which I then played in the building via eight speakers that I’d positioned around the space. It was quite an undertaking and I must have used about 200 cables. I was really pleased to see so many people on the launch night and I’ll be honest I didn’t know beforehand whether it was going to work or not – but it did! I also performed an improvised set for electronic synthesiser and clarinet, an interactive piece played on four mechanical music boxes and a specially written composition featuring a choir that combined folk singers, Gospel and my own acoustic piano. It was a really exciting project!”

Courtney Spencer, Director at Left Bank Leeds and curator of the exhibition, said: “This residency was the first part of a larger project exploring the theme of space and place through site specific work across different mediums, a group show, photography exhibition and photography workshops. The residency has been a fantastic experience; we were overwhelmed by the number of applications we received and I'm very grateful to those who were on the selection panel who helped select the final four.

“The four artists really complimented each other both in their work but also their approach to the residency. All were incredibly supportive of one another and it was a joy to work with them. Bob's work was skilfully crafted and filled the building beautifully.

“We would like to thank Arts Council England for the funding that has made this project possible. The next part of Space & Place will be a group exhibition curated by Leo Rotaru from 14 to 16 July.”